Steamed Greens with a Twist

Recently on a trip to Bryon, my husband and I stumbled across one of the best little eateries I have been to in a long while called The Roadhouse. Not your typical Byron tourist café, the Roadhouse is a little out of town, a little quirky and chock full of locals on any given day. It is run by two young Hipsters who seriously know their stuff when it comes to combining great local produce with quirky ideas that just somehow work. They take paddock to plate to the extreme with half of the produce they use being grown on a farm just up the road. I love that. The boys’ creativity in the kitchen is amazing from their slow cooked pork belly marinated in miso, served with fermented mushrooms and homemade kimchi swimming in a pool of glorious bone broth to their unique take on a hot chocolate, made with the coconut milk, cacao, honey, mesquite, cayenne pepper and mushrooms. You get the picture? Seriously good tucker.

It was here, at The Roadhouse, that I was inspired by the Hipsters’ take on a traditionally bland and relatively uninspiring side dish of steamed green vegies which they managed to transport into another realm of deliciousness and excitement by simply adding a quirky twist of serving them with a handful of activated almonds, a sprinkle of sesame seeds, a hint of fresh chilli, and a smothering of sensational tangy tahini and lime dressing. Seriously, I have dreamt about this side dish on more than one occasion since being exposed to this wonderful blend of fresh ingredients, and I have worked hard at finding the right balance of flavours to transport me back to The Roadhouse experience.

I love that the addition of a few choice ingredients can help make greens exciting again and the cooking method couldn’t be simpler. All you need to do is steam your favourite green vegies, then toss in the almonds, seeds, chilli and dressing just before you serve and voila, you’re done. For those of you that don’t have a steamer in your cupboard, you can simply use a colander that is heat resistant placed over the top of a pot of boiling water and you’ve created your very own homemade steamer. And by steaming the vegetables you are retaining maximum nutrients and colour, giving you more bang for your buck in terms of the health benefits you receive from the greens as well as making your plate look super colourful and appealing.

This side dish works so well with so many proteins included pan fried coconut chicken, baked or grilled fish or even a nice succulent sirloin, or you could even serve it as a main dish topped with a poached egg for a brekkie with a difference. Give it a go and I’m sure you’ll be inspired too.

So here you have it….my take on the Hipsters’ Steamed Greens.

Serves 2

Ingredients

10 florets of broccoli

8 brussel sprouts (cut in half)

10 snow peas

12 green beans

½ cup activated almonds (soaked overnight, rinsed and dried)

1 tbsp black sesame seeds

2 red chillies (deseeded and thinly sliced)

And for the dressing…

¼ cup hulled tahini

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Juice and zest of 2 limes

Salt to taste

Method

Steam the greens using a steamer or colander over a boiling pot of water. Keep in mind your green vegies will cook at different rates it is best to add your brussel sprouts and beans to the steamer first and then after 2-3 minutes add your broccoli and snow peas and steam until just tender (another 3-4 minutes). I like mine a little of the crispy side, but if you prefer them more on the tender side, you may want to allow a few minutes longer.

Once steamed, transfer greens to a serving bowl and toss in the almonds, sesame seeds and the thinly sliced chillies.

Place all of the dressing ingredients together in a small glass jar and shake until well combined and then smother on top of the steamed greens. Toss lightly to coat all vegies, and serve with another wedge of lime for an added zing.

Enjoy!

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